I am also in the 'old eyes' camp and for my 68 year old, bifocaled, eyes, I 'invested' in some bright front sights..they make a YUGE difference, to me. Ameriglo..for Glock42/17/19..Yes, they are essentially 'night sights' but the green/orange colors are very bright during the day..

I am also in the 'old eyes' camp and for my 68 year old, bifocaled, eyes...

Ditto (except I'm still 65, not 68)... but yup, simply can't see clear as I did before bifocals. If I raise my head to use the bifocal part, can't see target as clearly... if I lower head slightly to use upper part of glasses, target is clear but the sites are a blur. NOT complaining... can adjust to that and shoot pretty well, but as was said, MUCH better in full light. Most of my rifles that can take a scope, now have one, for the same reasons. Never tried the stuff the OP asked about, but if it's like other paint that glows in the dark, it probably wouldn't last long enough for me. I do fine with white dots to frame the sites.

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NRA life member. Making good people helpless doesn't make bad people harmless!

Hounddog I have used a similar paint called Glow-On. I can't attest to glowmania, but Glow-on works quite well. I can charge it with a flashlight for about 10 seconds and I have legitimately useable sights for about 30 minutes. They can still be faintly seen after nearly an hour, but I wouldn't declare them useable.

Not ideal for an EDC pistol, but I can think of situations where it could possibly be useful.

I think glow sights are gimmiks. The last thing I want in an emergency is sights that I have no time to "charge" and have varying degrees of brightness that I have to adjust for from barely usable 5o blinding and illuminating myself as a target.

Although the need for night sights at all is debateable, if thats what you want get the real night sights at least they are consistent and formulated to just the right brightness level to identify your sights in low light conditions

The main difference with Glow in the dark paint compared to Tritium or fiber optic is that it is a lot cheaper. Tritium is radio active and not suitable for all types of sights. Fiber Optic need light for the sights to be seen again not suitable for all sights. Glow in the Dark can be used on just about any sight even on your shell casings! You may think it's a gimmick but it does have some plus points to it.
The glow in the dark kits that are out there come in 2 different types, those that are pre-mixed and have a certain amount of crystals within the paint (Glo-on) and those that you make and mix yourself like Glomania's . The later is the better for one main reason you can add as much pigment as needed for the sights. The other type is fixed maid with an acrylic medium and placing just a small blob on the markings may have only a small amount of glow crystals within it.
Glow in the dark is a crystal that charges and emits its glow constantly as long as there is a light source to charge it. Concealed carry stops the crystals from charging and so they will fade down over time, but will recharge as soon as they get some light.
One of the other criticisms of Glow in the Dark pigments and paints is that they fade down too quickly and so you cannot see the glow after about half an hour. Yes this is correct if your eyes are not adjusted to the darkness, going from a bright environment straight in to say a dark ally there is going to be some time for your eyes to compensate to be able to see shadows. However if you had your weapon by the side of your bed and woke quickly in the night it will still be glowing not as bright but well enough for you to see your markings clearly.
To use the Glomania Glow in the Dark Kit correctly you would need to place or keep a white base on your sights and then paint over with the pigment and hardener mix, yes you can get the mix in 6 + colors however Green, Blue or White are the best and brightest. The reason for the white base helps refract light back into the underside of the crystals making them charge quicker and stronger.
For $15.00 you can paint a large number of sights. I hope this helps answer some of those questions you are having.
PS Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Last edited by Alber; December 26, 2018 at 08:38 PM.
Reason: Spelling and grammar

I don't have a pistol dedicated "For night time use only". I can't afford that luxury. I shoot them during the day. Unless you're Law Enforcement, 99.9% of the people reading this will never have to shoot a gun at night. And if it's so dark that all you can see is a glowing dot on your sight, how are you going to be able to see the target. One of the firearms safety rules "Know your target and what's beyond it."

Mike38 being able to see my sights in a low light situation, or any other is very desirable in my opinion. That is not in opposition to the 4 Rules. Since this is not a thread about the efficacy of having, or even seeing sights on a handgun I will leave it there.

I've purchased and used the glow on paint in the past. If you keep it charged and the lights go out it has some short term usefulness, but not enough for me to recommend it.

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